Dushanbe Mayor Rustam Emomali has ordered local restaurants to operate normally (full time) during the holy month of Ramadan and offer full service to visitors; otherwise, appropriate measures will be taken against them.

Dushanbe Mayor Rustam Emomali has ordered local restaurants to offer full service to visitors despite the holy month of Ramadan, according to the Dushanbe mayor’s office.

“By mayor’s order restaurants should open at no later than 11:00 am during the holy month of Ramadan and offer full service to visitors,” an official source at the Dushanbe mayor’s office told Asia-Plus in an interview.

In case of default of this order, appropriate measures will be taken against restaurant owners, the source added.

According to him, the mayor has made this order taking into consideration the increasing inflow of foreign tourists in the Tajik capital. 

This year, the holy month of Ramadan began in Tajikistan on May 6.  During Ramadan, Muslims do not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset, and this can be embarrassing for hungry and thirsty travelers.